Therapeutic device



Dec. 12, 1939. D. B. McKENDRlCK 2,183,335

THERAPEUTIC DEVICE Filed March 16, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Jar/0' Brow/7 Mh/MI/d Dec. 12, 1939. D. B. MCKENDRICK THERAPEUTI C DEVICE Filed March 16, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 wk W Kai- O INVENTOR flmdfiraw/rflwmha TTORNEY D. B. M KENDRICK THERAPEUTIC DEVICE Dec. 12, 1939.

Filed March 16, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR D2 v/d 5mm 4778/2/00? BY 34w;

ORNEY Dec. 12, 1939. D. B. McKENDRlCK THERAPEUTIC DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Dav/d Brow/7 M'Mzdm/r TTORNEY Filed March 16, 1937 Patented Dec. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to therapeutic devices. More particularly, my invention relates to improvements in heating devices designed to confine a portion of the body for therapeutic heat treatment.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a therapeutic heating device of the character described which shall comprise highly improved and novel features of construction, which shall be rugged, which shall be portable, which shall be adapted to be readily and quickly arranged in effec ive position and easily removed from such position, and which shall operate with a high degree of efficiency for the purposes set forth.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown one of the various possible illustrative embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a therapeutic heating device embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view, partly broken away, taken substantially on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of a portion of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 3.

Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive, are enlarged detail views, partly sectional, of portions of the device illustrated in Fig. l with parts broken away to disclose the inner constructional details thereof.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, I have disclosed a therapeutic heating device of the character described comprising a main, or top section I and a pair of auxiliary or side sections II and I2, pivotally connected to the main section 10, as shown. The three interconnected sections are mounted on a portable stand 14 which is provided with wheels Ma and is adapted to be readily moved about from place to place with ease and facility. The stand [4 may be made adjustably with reference to the height thereof by any suitable adjusting means, such as for example, a pin l passing through a pair of telescoped relatively slidable rod members l6 and ll.

Therapeutic devices of the character herein described are generally employed for treating patients who require the application of heat to definite areas of the body. Therefore, in actual operation, my portable device may be wheeled over to a particular bed or table upon which a patient is resting, and either one of the sections 1 l or 52 or both are pivotally raised so as to rest upon the top section It, if desired, while the device is moved to a position where said upper sec tion I8 is directly over the area to be treated and the side sections then swung down into proper position, on the sides of the table or bed. Then by adjusting the height of the support M, the main section it may be lowered or raised to any 15 desired height. Thus, it is seen that the area of the body to be treated is encased on the top, by the section It, on the bottom, by the bed or table, and on two opposite sides by the auxiliary sections H and [2.

It is desirable, in order to retain the heat generated within the confined area between the sections, to provide suitable closure members for the remaining two open sides. Such closure members I prefer to construct in the form of slidable curtains l8 and IE3 which may be of any suitable known heat conducting soft material since these curtains are designed to rest lightly upon the body of the patient under treatment. The curtains l8 and I9 may be removably mounted on the three sections H), H and I2 by means of hookless fastener devices 2%, 2i of well-known design and adapted to be operatively attached and removed by slide members 22. It is thus seen that the curtains I8 and I9 may be either partially opened to inspect the condition of the patient or they may be completely detached from the unit, if desired.

Each of the sections l0, II and [2 has been designed, in accordance with my invention, to house improved heat generating means and to be so insulated that a maximum amount of the heat generated will be confined within the interior of the hollow space between the sections Ill, H and I2, and not be dissipated to the ouside thereof. I will first describe in detail the construction of the side section II which is similar to that of the section l2, and then proceed to describe in detail the construction of the top or main section Ill. 59

In Figs. 3, 5, 8 and 9 there is illustrated in detail the auxiliary or side section II which comprises a rectangular shaped wooden frame 25 provided with a plurality of transversely disposed strips 26 preferably made of asbestos, which are fastened by any suitable means, such as nails 26a, to opposite sides of the frame, and are spaced from each other, as shown in Fig. 8. Fastened to these strips 26 by such means as staples 28b is a heating coil 21 comprising copper wire covered with heavy insulation and arranged in a continuous path, as shown. The ends of the heating coil 2! may be passed through a suitable aperture in the frame 25 and connected to a lead wire 28 which is connected to a similar heating coil (to be described) in the main section it which in turn is connected to a source of current supply (not shown). The space between the heating coil 2'! and the top surface of the frame 25 is filled with rock wool 28 which is adapted to serve as insulating means for preventing the heat from being conducted in an outward direction with respect to the space between the sections H and i2. 1 have found by experimentation that the use of rock wool for the purpose above described is highly efficient and superior to other types of heat insulation. Overlying the layer of rock wool is a suitable backing member 29, which may be of any desired rigid material in order to hold the rock wool in position. The backing member 29 may be attached to the frame 25, by any suitable attaching means, or may be held in place by an outer layer of leather 30 provided for the purpose of neatly finishing off the section l i, and which is turned over and fastened to the end edge of the section H, as shown in Fig. 3.

Fastened to the frame 25 is a second rectangular frame 3i constructed of wood and whose members are preferably lesser in width than the width of the members of the frame 25 to provide an inner shoulder 32, as shown in Fig. 3. On the opposite side of the coil ii to that of the rock wool I provide a layer of mica 33 to insulate the coil 21" from another sheet of copper 34 which overlies the layer of mica The sheets 33 and 34 may be fastened to the frame 25 at the shoulder portions 32 by any suitable means, such as tacks 35. The two upper corners of the layers 33 and Sid are notched as shown in Fig. 9, to accommodate a pair of asbestos hinges to be described hereinafter. Fastened to the outer surface of the frame 39 are a plurality of transversely disposed strips of asbestos tape similar to the asbestos tape strips 23, designed to prevent sagging of a covering of asbestos cloth 3? surrounding the frames 25 and ti and adapted to prevent the heat from the copper sheet 34 from direct contact with the body of the patient under treatment. It is noted that an air space A is provided etween the asbestos cloth 3? and the copper sheet 36. In this area the air which is heated by the copper sheet 34 serves to radiate heat inwardly by filtering through the asbestos cloth 3'! to heat up the interior space between the sections it, if and H2.

The section i2 is constructed in a similar manher to that of the section H, as above described, with the asbestos cloth covering 3i disposed inwardly with respect to the sections H and 12.

The top or main section It follows generally the same arrangement as that of the sections ll and i2, and comprises a rectangular wooden frame d3 having a plurality of strips ll of asbestos tape attached to the upper surface of the opposite sides of the frame 43 in a manner similar to the attachment of the tapes 29. A heating coil 4 3 is attached to the strips ll by insulated staples 42. Underneath the coil 4 is disposed a sheet of mica 44, and underneath the mica sheet 44 is placed a sheet of copper 45. The sheets 44 and 45 are attached to the frame 43 by the tacks T. Overlying a portion of the strips 4| adjacent the ends thereof and covering the underside of the frame 43 is a layer of asbestos cloth 46 similar to the asbestos cloth 31. As in the case of the construction of the section II there is also provided in the section In an air space B between the copper sheet 45 and the asbestos cloth 4% similar in purpose and function as the air space A. The frame 43 is provided with front and rear upstanding walls 41, which may be curved as shown and provided with shoulders so substantially parallel to the curved tops of the said sides 41. Above the heating coil 4 there is placed a layer of rock wool 48 extending to a point spaced below the shoulders 5G and which is held in position by a layer of relatively rigid material 49, similar to the layer 29?. Arranged on the shoulders 50 are a plurality of spaced asbestos tape strips 5| adapted to support a backing sheet 51a of rigid material and overlying this backing sheet is a leather covering 52 similar to the covering 30 for the purpose of enhancing the appearance of the device. The air space C between the layers 49 and 5| is designed for ventilation purposes and the sides 47: are provided with apertures 6i communicating with the outside atmosphere. Holes 66 in the layer 56a and. covering 52 communicating with the air space C may also be provided for ventilation. The front wall 4"! may be provided with an opening l6 adapted to receive a switch box therein.

For pivotally attaching the sections II and IE to the top section til, I have provided hinges 53 made of asbestos tape and adapted to encircle a portion of the upper members of the frames 25 and iii in the form of a loop, where the sheets 33 and 3 2, are notched (see Fig. 9), the ends of said loop being permanently atached to suitably notched portions of the frame 43, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 5. To prevent the heated air from the interior space of the device between the sections from escaping, the leather coverings 30 of the sections it and B2 are extended above the top of said sections and fastened to the frame 43 of the section it.

While in the drawings I have shown my device as constructed of three sections, namely, sections H), H and 52, it is understood that a similar device built in accordance with my invention may also be constructed of two sections in which one section is pivotally attached to the other by any suitable hinging means.

I have also provided a novel construction in association with the top section it for the purpose of mounting a thermometer 54 therein, said thermometer being adapted to register the temperature of the hollow space confined between the sections Ill, H, 32 and the curtains l8 and I9. There is provided a hollow tubular member 55 designed to be supported between the sheets 49 and 44 to provide a clear space for the thermometer 54 to pass through, and adapted to prevent contact of the thermometer with any of the layers. There is also provided in the top layers 5, 51a and 52 a bushing member 56 locked in position by a nut 5i, and communicating with the member 55, through which the thermometer is adapted to pass. Eyelets 58 and 59 are provided in order to permit the free passage of the thermometer therethrough to the interior space of the device. The thermometer 54 is provided with a shoulder 60 so that the bulb portion 5411 there- 7c...

of projects below the top section I!) a predetermined distance.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this invention are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiments set forth, it is to be understood. that all matter herein contained, or shown in the accompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as ilustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described by invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a therapeutic heat treatment device of the character described, the combination of a horizontally disposed top section, a heating coil in said top section, a pair of independent opposed side sections, asbestos hinges for swingably interconnecting said side sections with said top section, each of said side sections comprising a reotangular frame, a plurality of spaced relatively narrow asbestos strips fixed to said frame, a heating coil attached to said strips, a second rectangular frame overlying said first frame and attached thereto and a layer of asbestos cloth covering the outer surfaces of said first and second frame.

2. In a therapeutic heat treatment device of the character described, the combination of a horizontally disposed top section, a heating coil in said top section, a pair of independent opposed side sections, asbestos hinges for swingably interconnecting said side sections with said top section, each of said side sections comprising a rectangular frame, a plurality of spaced relatively narrow asbestos strips fixed to said frame, a heating coil attached to said strips, a sheet of mica overlying said heating coil and fastened to said frame, a sheet of copper overlying said mica and attached to said frame, a second rectangular frame overying said first frame and attached thereto, a layer of asbestos cloth covering said second frame whereby to provide an air space between said copper sheet and said asbestos cloth.

3. In a therapeutic heat treatment device of the character described, the combination of a horizontally disposed top section, a heating coil in said top section, a pair of independent opposed side sections, asbestos hinges for swingably interconnecting said side sections with said top section, each of said side sections comprising a rectangular frame, a plurality of spaced relatively narrow asbestos strips fixed to said frame, a heating coil attached to said strips, a sheet of mica overlying said heating coil and fastened to said frame, a sheet of copper overlying said mica and attached to said frame, a second rectangular frame overlying said first frame and attached thereto, a layer of asbestos cloth covering said second frame whereby to provide an air space between said copper sheet and said asbestos cloth, a layer of rock wool over said asbestos strips and said coil, said rock wool being disposed on the opposite side of said coil from said mica and copper sheets, and a backing member overlying said rock wool and attached to said first frame.

DAVID BROWN MCKENDRICK. 

